20th Tune, Li Buna-cuane, the moment he had the means of doing so, made haste to strengthen the hands of his own party by recommending to the bronc for him, and he adds that. "Universal positions of trust and power none but History, the history of what man has men of his own making, and, of course, accomplished in this world, is at bottom under the peculiar system of clanship the history of the great men who have and fellow provincialism that obtains worked there. hey were the leaders in this country, mostly natives of of men, these great ones; the modellers, his own province of Anhui. Hence patterns and ina wide sense creators, we find such men as Liu Ping-chang, of whatsoever the general mass of men P'an ing-hsin, Lin Ming-chinan, and contrived to do or to attain; all things a large multitude of others, rapidly that we see standing accomplished in raised from being Generals of Division the world are properly the outer mate-to the post of Commanders-in-Chief rial result, the practical realisation and and from the last named posts to be-embodiment of thoughts that dwelt in; come Provincial 'I'reasurers, Governors the great men sent into the world; the and Viceroys. Thus Liu Ming-chuan soul of the whole world's history, it obtained the distinction of being made may justly be considered, were the Governor of Formosa at the age of history of these." It is not too much therefore to ask that modern applicants for such an exalted rank should be subjected to the severest tests; the Victoria cross of a noble reputation ought out to be lightly given, nor without sufficient proof that the recipient is really deserving of the honour. We have no wish to take a morbid view of contemporary times, or to give our readers the impression that we regard modern heroism as an impossibility. The erratic light of the Will-o'-the-wisp only serves to accentuate the steady radiance of the beacon; and we have so many glorious examples of great men and women in our own days, that we need not necessarily despair because a few of our idols are overthrown. The memory of General Gordon will always shine like a jewel in England's crown of glorious names; and the Catholic Church may well be proud of her modern saint, Father Damien, who gave up his life for the sake of the Molokai lepers. St. Chrysostom said long ago, referring to the Ark of Testimony of the Hebrews, that "the true Shekinah is Man!" and therefore we need not fear that we shall lack examples of heroism as long as Humanity reigns supreme upon the earth. Disappointment and disillusion must come sometimes, but fortunately they are the exception and not the rule; and we can always console ourselves with the following optimistic quotation from the English Horace What if the rose-streak of morning Pale and depart in a passion of tears? Once to have hoped is no matter for scorning Love once—e'en love's disappointment endears A minute's su.cess pays the failure of years 1x DISEASES.—Sulpholine Lotion quickly es away Eruptions, Pimples, Blotches, Redness, Eczema, Acne, Disfigure-meats, Roughness and Scurf, &c., leaving clour, spotless Skin and beautiful Complexion. Sal is necessity for the Skin, especially in hot climates. Made in London. Sold everywhere. forty-four.
While Li Hung-chang was busily engaged in strengthening the position of his own party, his chief rival, the late Iso 'I'sung-tang, did not stand by idle. He had the advantage of finding on the death of his great Chief nearly two-fifths of the Viceroys, Governors and Provincial 'I'reasurers of the empire to be either his own fellow provincials or near neighbours—the Manchus in those days were at a sad discount. But since the death of so so well did Li Hung-chang accomplish his task of undenuining the power of the Iso faction or " 'I'so tang." that the order of things first found by Iso sung-tang has been entirely reversed, and on inspection we find that since the last decade the majority of the high provincial authorities in the country if not de facto wen of Anhui are for the most part favour ers of the Li family. The Manchus, on the other hand, who are again becoming, with a lengthened peace, an important factor in the politics of the country, being thoroughly despised by the Hunanese, naturally side with the "Li Tang," or Li faction, although a recent anecdote published in these columns has shown us that the great Viceroy at Tientsin does not reciprocate at all the feeling of respect which should always accompany amity.
Tso Tsung-tang was no match in intrigue against his stately political rival Li Hung-chang. His character was that of a successful General accustomed to command and to be obeyed. Quick-tempered, fiery, and haughty, he despised all such as had not had a military training to qualify them to be at the head of affairs, Although himself a Chu-jen or Provincial graduate—his degree of Hanlin having been presented to him, near the close of the Mohommedan Rebellion, by Imperial grace in order to qualify him for the post of one of the four Chinese Grand Secretaryships—the general tenour of Tso Tsang-t'ang's life showed that he rather despised, than otherwise,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.